Women's Sevens

Olympic Development Academy

Overview

USA Rugby's Olympic Development Academy (ODA) is a long-term, systemic approach to athlete development through a year-round training program. ODA's goal is to narrow the gap between amateur domestic players and international sevens rugby by accelerating the development of athletes not in full-time residency at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.

National Development Academies (NDA) are independently operated entities that collaborate with USA Rugby based on a set of key deliverables. It is an iterative pathway between the Eagles coaching staff and the NDAs to offer the athlete the best chance of growth and success over the course his development.

Goals

To train future Olympians

Identify Olympic athletes

Improve the level of club play

Deliverables

9- to 10-month training

2 Rest months

200 Rugby sessions

75 matches (7s) or Equivalent XVs

50% Matches at Club+

To Date

30+ Tours at Club+ Level

~$1mm in developing athletes

Multiple Eagles

Increased parity in club game

Who

The ODA is designed for up-and-coming male and female players who are not yet performing at the international level, but have demonstrated the potential to be; players who have played at an international level but are not in the USOC residency program; and men's national team pool players who are aiming to evolve into the USOC residency program in the future.

It is designed for domestic-based club athletes, non-collegiate age-grade athletes, and collegiate athletes whose university programs are not yet fully delivering a high-performance rugby experience. Current national player pool university students are encouraged to have a formal connection with an NDA for out of season progression in conjunction with that athlete's collegiate coaches.

NDA athletes do not have to play for the club affiliated with the NDA. They will however, need to train with the NDA on non-club training days to fulfill the standards of the NDA.

Schedule

Yearly Program

The calendar roughly parallels the national team schedule, with multiple periodization peaks throughout the year.

Each athlete should have two months free of rugby-specific training. These two months would include eight weeks on aggregate of active recovery entirely away from the rugby field. Typical NDA rugby-free windows would be the six weeks in between the Thanksgiving holiday and the beginning of the New Year, and / or the month of June. Each NDA and each athlete will have individual programs based on their domestic competitions.

In addition there should be an active-recovery week off period built into every five to six week training cycle throughout the year.

On the whole, the goal is 60 to 75 matches of seven-a-side rugby to be played by each athlete each year, with 50% of those matches played above the domestic club level. Those additional 50% can be from academy tournaments, international tours, and/or national camp scrimmages.

Weekly

ODA athletes are expected to do rugby specific training three times per week, with at least one rest day each week for 10 months of the year. At least one of these rugby trainings needs to be 7s specific each week.

During the domestic club 15s season, two of these sessions can be with the athlete's local 15s club. They must get at least one 7s session in with the ODA each week during this time, even if the local 15s club trains three times per week.

These evaluations are subject to change. In the medium-term, skill based evaluations will also most likely be a part of the testing protocol.

Costs

NDAs and/or individual players will need to be in good standing with USA Rugby. Costs incurred for participation in NDA training and tournaments are delivered by the NDA and/or the player. USA Rugby will only cover costs once an athlete assembles with the national team.

Marketing

NDAs are independently operated entities. Permission to use the USA Rugby logo and name needs to be approved in advance by USA Rugby's communication department. OPAs are not allowed to use the USOC logo or affiliated trademarks.

Advantages

Player Development Advantages

Better and more effective training

More Seven-a-side matches per year

Top Instruction

Players receive integrated oversight from Academy coaches and the Men's Eagles Coaching Staff in their local environment.

A clear pathway to international rugby

Players compete on a more regular basis against current national team players

Regular Game and Training Evaluations by Men's Eagles Coaching Staff

ODA Advantages

Access to the latest coaching intellectual property

A national presence to sell to local supporters, contributors and sponsors

An elite environment to build grassroots clinics and camps for all-ages

PLEASE NOTE

The Digital Platform Department cannot respond to enquiries regarding the above platforms as each are managed by a different USA Rugby department.

If you are having issues with one of the following USA Rugby websites -- USARugby.org, D1ARugby.com, D1ARugby.tv, RookieRugby.com, PlayRugbyToday.com, TryOnRugby.com, USACollege7s.com -- please contact David Jacobson or Aaron Ewerdt.